Wedding Day
by Irish Rose1
Summary: This is an expanded version of WITH THIS RING.
1. Default Chapter

For those of you who have not read my stories before, I changed some things from the movie. Danny and Evelyn never get involved, she does get pregnant but the baby is Rafe's and Danny does not die in China.

Summary: Rafe and Evelyn get married after the Doolittle Raid.

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Rafe and Danny had come home from China in one piece. Rafe saw the result of the time he and Evelyn had spent together before he'd shipped out and he reacted much the way she thought he would. He was surprised to say the least, but his happiness was plainly evident as he asked her to plan a wedding. He'd had a lot of time to think about things on the trip home, especially with the coffins the transport carried with them and he wanted to make their engagement a marriage as soon as possible. 

Death had become an unwelcome part of his life and Evelyn was giving him a new life, in more ways than one.

It had all happened so fast that neither Rafe or Evelyn's parents could make the cross-country trip. Besides, the wartime restrictions on travel made it too difficult to plan something on such short notice. They did promise their parents to send pictures and to come home as soon as they were able.

Evelyn's nerves were getting the better of her, or maybe it was the morning sickness. She'd been sick on and off all morning and she prayed that it would pass by the time she and Rafe repeated their vows early that afternoon. The girls were hovering around worried that this might be too much for her, but both she and Rafe were bound and determined that they were going to be married before he had to leave on another mission.

Rafe had been assigned housing and Colonel Doolittle had made arrangements to have him transferred back to his old squadron. It was in that house that Evelyn had been unpacking for the last week, trying to transform the plain military house into a home for them and their coming child. It was also where she now lay on the bed they would share as she willed her stomach to calm down. This was her wedding day, sudden as it was and she wanted it to be as perfect as possible.

She ran a shaky hand across her forehead and sighed. 

Barbara sat down next to her after shooing the other girls out of the room and took the damp hand of her nauseous friend. "Are you sure you want to do this now Ev?"

Evelyn managed a weak smile. "We've already waited too long Barbara. I've been showing for the last month and a half and the looks I've been getting from the married women around this base have been less than kind."

"Who the hell cares what they think!" Barbara said angrily. "You and Rafe love each other."

"Come on Barbara, you know that doesn't matter. And it doesn't matter that I'm wearing his engagement ring either, it's that little gold band that counts." Evelyn was uncharacteristically sarcastic.

Her tone did not go unnoticed by her irate friend. "Hells bells Ev, we should have gotten you a wedding ring to wear! That would have shut those meddling busy bodies up real quick, wouldn't it?"

Evelyn sat up, slowly. "That would have been dishonest and besides, I'm not ashamed of this. We weren't careful and that's obvious, but I'm not sorry I stayed with him."

"You never did tell me what your folks said when you finally told them."

"Mother was really disappointed about it at first. But she seemed to warm to the idea after I told her we were already planning on getting married."

"What about your dad?"

Evelyn sighed. "He said I put the cart before the horse and that he wished we'd waited until after we'd gotten married. But even though we hadn't I was still having his grandchild."

"You're lucky Ev. A lot of girls would have been disowned."

She nodded. "I really disappointed them both and I wondered for a few weeks if they would ever talk to me again, they sounded so hurt."

"Your parents would never have stopped talking to you, no matter how disappointed they were."

"I know that now but I was scared to death to tell them, especially if Rafe hadn't come back."

"And he did, didn't he?"

Evelyn smiled at her friend. "He told me he would, just like he promised when he went to England."

Barbara grinned. "Let's go out to the kitchen and get you a bicarbonate to see if that will settle your stomach."

She laughed. "I don't think a bicarbonate is going to help morning sickness, but maybe it _will_ get me through the rest of the day."

They got off the bed and headed out to the kitchen.

They'd known each other since they were boys and Rafe had always been the more confident of the two. But to look at him trying to tie his own tie and failing miserably Danny could only shake his head. The only time he had seen his best friend more nervous than he was now was during their final physicals when he'd been so worried about passing the eye exam.

Rafe was swearing a blue streak trying to do something he never gave a second thought to because his fingers would not cooperate. "Damn tie!" 

"Rafe, if you don't cut that out I'm goin' to have to tell your mama." He tried to calm his friend's nerves by joking with him.

"No you wouldn't."

"If you keep this up, I sure as hell will." And he slapped Rafe's hands away from the tie and finished knotting it himself. "How is it that you could fly a B-25 through flak as thick as fog, but getting married has you with a case of pre-mission jitters?"

"Let's see how well you do when it's _your_ turn." 

Danny grinned. "When it _is_ my turn you can remind me about this, but in the meantime today is your weddin' day. Hell Rafe, once you see her you'll forget all about how nervous you are."

"And how would you know that?"

Danny's grin got wider. "Your daddy called me last night and he told me to tell you that. You _know_ that he and your mama really wanted to be here and he said that if there were one thing he could tell you, that would be it."

Rafe was more than a little hurt that his father had talked to Danny and not him. "Daddy called you?"

He saw the hurt look in his friend's eyes. "He also told me to tell you that he would call you before we went over to the chapel. Rafe, he was callin' me back because I wanted to be able to tell you somethin'. As your best man it's part of my job to give you some advice and I needed help."

"Daddy always has a way of puttin' things."

"He _is_ right you know. Once you see Evelyn, you'll forget how nervous you are because you're goin' to share your life with her." He shook his head. "If I were her I'd be scared to death." And he grinned.

"Very funny Danny."

"How is the groom holding up Captain Walker?" Colonel Doolittle stood in the doorway of the barracks in his dress uniform, looking very amused. 

Rafe and Danny turned toward the door and saluted their former commander. 

"At ease gentlemen." He walked in and approached the two pilots. "Nervous Captain McCawley?"

"Yes sir."

"It's natural to be nervous son because you're about to make a big change in your life. But I can tell you from my own experience that you get used to it very quickly and wonder what you did before you got married. I was also very pleased when your lovely bride asked me to give her away. I was just on my way over to the chapel to see how she was doing, but I wanted to stop by here first." 

"Please tell Evelyn that I love her and I can't wait to see her."

Doolittle smiled. "I'll do that. Anything else?"

"No sir, that's it."

"Well then, I'll be on my way. I'll see you in an hour." And he turned and left the barracks.

Surprisingly to Evelyn, the bicarbonate did help to settle her stomach and by the time she and Barbara got to the chapel to dress for the ceremony, she felt better. 

Sandra and Martha met the girls there and helped them both get ready.

Evelyn's one regret was that she couldn't wear the wedding dress that she wanted. But Barbara had helped her pick out a dress that she liked almost as much because it camouflaged her blossoming figure.

Barbara was securing the veil to Evelyn's hair when there was a knock at the bride's room door. Martha answered it and Colonel Doolittle stood in the doorway. "How are you doing young lady?"

"I'm fine sir, a little nervous."

"I just left your groom and he's as nervous as you are. But he did want me to tell you that he loves you and he can't wait to see you." 

That made Evelyn smile. "The way his mind works." She said quietly.

The Colonel had heard her comment and smiled. "There is still plenty of time before the ceremony, but I wanted to deliver Captain McCawley's message. I'll come back for you when it's time."

"Thank you sir."

"Thank _you_ for letting me have the honor of giving you away." And he turned around and left the room.

They watched him leave before Barbara had Evelyn stand up. "Let's get a look at you Ev."

Evelyn stood up and Barbara had her walk over to the full-length mirror. 

She could hardly believe it. It may not have been her first choice, but the dress she wore hid the fact that she was pregnant. And did it with style. 

Her eyes filled with tears and her chest tightened because the woman who looked back at her in the mirrors reflection was beautiful. Barbara saw her reaction. "Evelyn Johnson, if you cry and ruin my makeup job I'll never speak to you again." She joked.

Evelyn turned to her and laughed. "I'm not going to cry. I'm just so glad you talked me into buying this because I was so afraid that it wouldn't hide me."

"You look beautiful Ev." Sandra smiled.

"You're going to knock that groom of yours for a loop." Martha commented.

"I hope so."

There was another knock at the door and Sandra went to go answer it. Danny was standing there, his cap tucked under his arm and when he saw Evelyn he grinned. "If he was nervous before now, he's goin' to be a babblin' idiot when he gets a look at you."

Evelyn and Barbara looked at each other. "That was the most backhanded compliment I've ever heard." Barbara said to Evelyn.

She looked at Danny. "Thank you. How is he?"

"He really wants to get married. How are _you_?" 

"The same."

"There's still some time before the weddin' starts, but I thought you'd like to know he's here."

"Thanks Danny."

He looked at Sandra. "Care to go for a walk?"

She nodded before she turned to the other girls. "I won't be too long." And they left the room.

Martha looked at her friends. "Is anybody talking?"

"Let them alone Martha." Evelyn said. "They'll talk when they're ready."

"It better be soon, they're driving me crazy!" She remarked. 

"In the meantime, I think we should tell Barbara how nice she looks." Evelyn answered. "You really do look very pretty ."

"Thanks Ev." She looked at a clock that was hanging on the wall. "It's almost time, are you ready?" 

"Wait!" Martha said suddenly. "I have to go get your flowers. I'll be right back." And she was out the door.

The two friends looked at each other and smiled. It really was a happy day.


	2. I Thee Wed

It was a simple ceremony.

Rafe had wanted her to have the wedding of her dreams, but Evelyn only wanted to be married to him. Fate had brought him back to her a second time and they were having a baby.

He'd told her how he felt when she'd packed for him the day he left, how he'd felt married to her. To him the ceremony made it a reality, but he wanted her to be happy. All she wanted was to be Mrs. Rafe McCawley.

As they stood at the altar of the small chapel at Hickam, Rafe grinned at Danny. "Thanks for bein' here."

"Where else would I be?" Danny grinned back at him.

The door at the back of the chapel opened and standing behind Barbara was Evelyn, on the arm of Colonel Doolittle. It had pleased Rafe that she had asked him to give her away, because there was no man other than his father that he had more respect for.

The minister motioned them to come forward as his wife began to play "Oh, Promise Me". The Colonel leaned over and said quietly, "All ready young lady?"

She looked and saw Rafe standing there in his uniform, with a big smile on his face. She couldn't help but answer with one of her own and turned to the Colonel. "Yes sir, I'm ready."

He smiled at her. "Then let's go." And he walked her up the aisle to where Rafe waited for her. The minister opened his prayer book as Evelyn stood next to Rafe and began a gentle discourse on the challenge of marriage, especially in wartime. He spoke about separation, loss and the blessings of children, which got them to glance at each other briefly and they smiled.

They repeated marriage vows to love, honor and cherish for better or worse until death would they part. They looked at each other again because they understood the gravity of that very possibility.

The minister motioned to Danny and to Barbara to put the wedding rings on his prayer book and he blessed them. He handed the smaller of the rings to Rafe and the minister instructed him to put the ring on her finger.

"With this ring, I thee wed." Rafe said and smiled.

Evelyn could feel tears gather at the corners of her eyes as the minister handed her the second ring and gave the same instruction to her.

"With this ring, I thee wed." She said and a tear rolled down her cheek. Rafe reached over and gently brushed it away.

She smiled at him as the minister concluded the ceremony. He indicated to Rafe and Evelyn to put their left hands on his prayer book. He covered their hands with his own and said, "For as much as Rafe and Evelyn have made vows to each other before God and this company, I pronounce them man and wife. Captain McCawley, you may kiss your bride."

He had a smile on his face as he glanced at the minister, who nodded. He grasped her shoulders and leaned over to give her a soft kiss. She answered it and it was all Rafe could do to not pull her into his arms and kiss her the way he really wanted to.

When he leaned back, Evelyn's eyes were filled with tears. "Why are you cryin'?"

She laughed softly. "Haven't you heard that women cry at weddings?"

That made him laugh and he kissed her again. He then turned to Danny who had decided to forgo the congratulatory handshake and he hugged his best friend. "I know I don't need to say this, but be happy Rafe."

"Thanks for everythin' Danny."

Danny's smile told Rafe how happy his friend was for him. "You're my best friend and I'd do anythin' for you, you know that."

"Yea, I know." And he turned back to Evelyn to take her hand as the minister presented them to the small gathering.

"It pleases me to present Captain and Mrs. Rafe McCawley." And they walked up the aisle with everyone clapping, Danny and Barbara not far behind.

They all gathered outside and walked to the back lawn of the chapel that had been set up for the reception. A light breeze on the late May afternoon stirred the tablecloth and the awning overhead as everyone sat down. The minister's wife had put together a small luncheon and baked a wedding cake for the occasion.

Danny stood up and cleared his throat. "If I could have your attention, I have somethin' I'd like to say." It quieted down and he picked up his glass. "I've known Rafe my whole life and the only thing he was ever really serious about was flyin', until he met Evelyn. He was always smoother than I was, always knew the right thing to say to a girl, until he met Evelyn." That got anyone who knew Rafe to laugh. "He's protected me my whole life and it makes me so happy that he's finally found someone as wonderful as her. So please raise your glasses to Rafe and to Evelyn." And he did just that.

The other guests followed his lead and toasted. Rafe and Evelyn stood up and each hugged Danny for what she told him was very thoughtful.

"Just be happy, Evelyn." He told her and kissed her cheek.

"Don't worry about us Danny, we _will_ be happy. What about you though?"

He laughed. "You're startin' to sound like Rafe. Now that you're married, ya'll are tryin' to get _me_ married."

"We want you to be happy too." She said and hugged him before they sat down.

Evelyn would always remember her wedding day as one that was warm and sunny. Those they knew that had survived Pearl Harbor and the Tokyo raid were there with them. She would remember how Rafe was never far away and when he was close, always had a hold of her hand. She understood why because there was going to be a time when he could not be with her.

She was brought out of her reverie as Rafe gently grasped her elbow. "Hey Mrs. McCawley, where are you?" He said with a grin.

"I like the sound of that, Captain." She smiled back at him.

"There's a cake over there waitin' for us. What do you say?" He held his hand out to her and she took it and stood up. They walked over to where the cake sat on a small table and Rafe picked up a knife to make the first slice. Before he did though, Evelyn put her hand on top of his and they cut the cake.

"We're in this together, Rafe McCawley."

"You got that right Evelyn McCawley." He grinned at her again.

"I really like the sound of that." She smiled back and fed him the first piece of their wedding cake. 


	3. Wedding Night

The sun had almost set by the time Rafe pulled the car into the drive. He glanced over at Evelyn who'd fallen asleep on the ride over from the base chapel and knew she'd held out as long as she could before the excitement of the day took its toll. He'd never seen her more beautiful than she had been that day and he considered himself a very lucky man that she had chosen to share her life with him. 

"Hey Evelyn wake up, we're home." He said softly and smiled as he said it. Home.

She smiled even before she opened her eyes. "I like the sound of that."

"So do I. Ready to go inside?"

She nodded and Rafe got out of the car. He went around to open her door and held out his hand to her. She took it and he helped her out and they walked hand in hand to the front of the house. 

They stood on the porch and looked at each other for a moment before Rafe grinned at her. "This is where I'm supposed to carry you over the threshold."

Evelyn looked at her new husband before she looked down at her rounded figure. "Rafe, I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Evelyn, you ain't that heavy. I've carried you before, remember?"

It spite of herself, she flushed. The last time he'd carried her was through the door of his bungalow after he'd turned up alive the night before the surprise attack. 

He didn't miss her reaction and he tried not to let her see his smile. 

"I know that, but I was a few pounds lighter."

He picked her up anyway and she could see it was more than he expected.

"Rafe McCawley, if you hurt yourself..." She didn't get to finish before he kissed her.

"Evelyn, I ain't goin' to hurt myself." He opened the front door and carried her in. "This is the only time that I'll be able to carry you in here as my bride, so I want to do this." He kissed her again before he put her down on her feet.

When they looked around the small living room, they both suddenly understood why Danny, Sandra, Barbara, Martha, Red and Gooz had kept disappearing during the afternoon. Everything had been unpacked and put in its place. Evelyn had been sick so much that she hadn't unpacked as much as she had wanted to before the wedding, but their friends had taken care of that for them. 

"Wow." Was all Rafe could manage.

"I was wondering what they were up to." Evelyn said as she took his hand. "Let's see what else they did."

They walked down the hall and looked into the baby's room. The bassinet was there that Evelyn's mother had sent and the shelves that Rafe had just put up the day before were filled with toys and bath supplies. A small mobile hung over the bassinet and when Evelyn walked over to take a closer look she saw small planes, P-40's and B-25's. It had to be Gooz, he always seemed to be whittling something.

"I think someone wants our baby to be a pilot." Evelyn commented.

"Don't look at me, it wasn't my idea." Rafe laughed.

Just like the living room, everything was in its place. She tucked her arm through his and smiled. "We really are lucky to have the friends we do."

He looked at her and grinned. "I think they didn't want us to get too distracted."

"That's very possible. But it could also be that they just wanted to do something nice for us." Evelyn countered.

"That's also possible. Come on, there's one more room we need to check." His grin got wider and he took her hand and walked out of the baby's room and down the hall to the room they would share.

It was that room that held the biggest surprise and it was also the room that their friends seemed to put the most thought into. In short, their room had been transformed into a bridal suite. 

There was a small table in the corner of the room that had been set with china and crystal set on top of a linen tablecloth. There was a candle in the middle of the table, waiting to be lit and a champagne bucket next to the table with a chilled bottle waiting to be opened. 

There was a note on the table from Barbara.

"When you're ready to eat, there are two plates warming on the back of the stove. 

We hope you enjoy your wedding present from all of us because we wanted 

you to have a proper wedding night. If there is anything you want to rearrange, 

it can wait until tomorrow. Happy Wedding Day." 

And it was signed by Barbara, Danny, Sandra, Martha, Red and Gooz.

"They're really somethin'." Rafe smiled.

Evelyn turned and saw the bed. "That's not all they did."

Rafe turned around and saw that it had been turned down. A nightgown for her and a pair of pajamas for him had been laid out as well. The finishing touch was a single red rose on each pillow. He put his arms around Evelyn and kissed the top of her head. "They thought of everythin' didn't they?"

She leaned back in his arms and he tightened his hold on her. "They certainly did."

It seemed to finally dawn on both of them that they were really married. It had all happened so fast and arrangements had had to be made so quickly that neither of them really thought what it would be like to have the ceremony over and be husband and wife. 

"What do you want to do now Mrs. McCawley?" Rafe asked her and put his cheek on her hair.

"What did you have in mind Captain?" She laughed softly.

"Not what you seem to think I do, at least not yet."

"Would you mind if we went for a walk? We're so close to the beach and I'd really like to stretch my legs." She asked him.

"Everythin' all right?" 

"Everything's fine Rafe. It's sounds kind of silly but after standing on my feet all day, I'd really like to walk."

"Then let's walk."

Evelyn didn't know why she was so nervous. It wasn't as though this was the first time she and Rafe would be together, the baby she was carrying made that obvious. But they were married now and for the first time she would have to take care of someone beside herself.

Their walk had not been long and by the time they'd gotten back to the house, Rafe was ready to open the bottle of champagne. While he did that, Evelyn went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. 

She looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror and the nightgown she wore almost hid the baby. This wasn't exactly how she'd pictured her wedding night, pregnant. But considering that she thought she'd lost Rafe in England and had been scared she might have lost him in China, it would do just fine.

She was being silly, being so nervous. She stood at the door with her hand on the knob and took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing, _she thought and when she finally got up the nerve to open the door Rafe had his back to her. 

Rafe was having his own case of nerves. He loved Evelyn with all of his heart but as a combat pilot, it was always in the back of his mind that something could happen to him and it worried him what that would do to her. He had no regrets about marrying her. He would have married her whether she was pregnant or not, but with the baby coming he worried even more. He wanted his son or his daughter to have the chance to know him, so it was that much more important that he make it through the war alive. 

He heard the bathroom door open but couldn't gather up the nerve to turn around and look at her. So he concentrated on the champagne.

"Rafe?"

He turned around and what he saw nearly took his breath away. If he thought his bride had been beautiful in her wedding dress, she was absolutely stunning standing in the doorway. Rafe had never flustered easily, but seeing Evelyn standing there left him speechless. 

"Are you all right?" She walked into the bedroom and saw the champagne bottle in his hand. "I thought you'd opened that already."

"Just waitin' for you." He smiled. 

"I'm here, so why don't you open it?" She smiled back as she walked over to the table to pick up the two glasses and waited while her groom popped the cork on the bottle. 

Once he'd done that, he filled the glasses and handed one of them back to Evelyn. He put the bottle back in the bucket and picked up his glass. "What should we toast to Mrs. McCawley?"

Evelyn thought about it for a moment. "To a long and happy marriage." And she raised her glass.

"And lots of kids." He grinned.

She smiled at that. "Let's just have this one first."

"To a long and happy marriage." He answered her toast as they each took a sip from their glasses. 

"Now that we got that out of the way..." He took her glass from her and put it down on the table next to his. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "I love you Evelyn and I'll do my best to make you happy."

"I love you too Rafe and I'll do my best to make _you_ happy."

"Tonight would be a nice place to start." 

"Captain McCawley, the way your mind works."

"And you wouldn't have it any other way." He grinned before he kissed her again and did his best to make her happy that night. 


End file.
